Goldman Sachs (GS.US) stock plunges 22% into bear market, financial report becomes the key to a breakthrough

According to Woofun AI, the share price of Goldman Sachs (GS.US), listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has officially entered a bear market, resulting in the rapid evaporation of several billion dollars in market capitalization. The market's focus is shifting from macro sentiment to micro fundamentals, as it seeks signs to halt the decline in the upcoming earnings report.

Divergences in business fundamentals have intensified market disagreements. The closing price on Friday was $895, down more than 22% from this year’s peak. The underlying cause is the cooling of the mergers and acquisitions boom, with total global M&A activity in the third quarter amounting to $993 billion, a 41% decline compared to the second quarter.

Although the $32 billion acquisition plan of BPM Bank by Monte dei Paschi di Siena and GFI.US’s acquisition proposal for Northern Star Resources remain noteworthy, and Goldman Sachs (GS.US) remains the most active M&A advisor this year—participating in M&A projects totaling over $1.5 trillion (last year $1.152 trillion)—overall momentum has weakened. The IPO market also faces pressure; although Goldman Sachs earned $100 million in underwriting fees and several hundred million in incentive fees from the SpaceX (SPCX.US) IPO in March and is expected to lead the upcoming Anthropic IPO, last quarter’s revenue growth to $17.23 billion (previously estimated at $16.97 billion) relied mainly on trading operations. The U.S.-Iran conflict and the rapid development of artificial intelligence have increased volatility, driving equity trading revenue up 27% to $5.33 billion and investment banking fees up 48% to $2.84 billion. However, a 10% decline in fixed income business offset some of the positive effects.

According to data compiled by Woofun AI, Benzinga’s analyst consensus projects revenue growth of 12.19% to $17 billion, with earnings per share increasing from $12.25 in Q3 2025 to $13.65 in the final quarter.

Uncertainty in governance structure combined with a deteriorating technical outlook is further suppressing the share price. There are growing rumors of John Waldron taking over as CEO after David Solomon’s tenure ends, while CFO Denis Coleman or global banking and markets co-head Ashok Varadhan may fill other vacancies. Technically, the narrowing gap between the 50-day and 200-day moving averages signals a risk of a death cross pattern, which typically leads to prolonged weakness. The share price has touched the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level, and the RSI has entered the oversold zone. If support fails, it could decline further to the $783 50% retracement level.

Under multiple layers of pressure, Goldman Sachs (GS.US) share price faces a severe test. Should the upcoming earnings report fail to confirm growth expectations, the risk of further decline will significantly increase. Investors should be wary of short-term volatility masking long-term weakness, as management changes and technical breakdowns could prove to be key variables that disrupt the current balance.